DGTR recommends 5-year anti-dumping duty on select Chinese cranes imports

The commerce ministry's probe agency has advised imposing a five-year anti-dumping duty on specific Chinese crane imports to shield domestic firms from low-cost shipments

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the commerce ministry’s investigation arm, has proposed imposing anti-dumping duty on certain cranes imported from China for a period of five years. The move is aimed at protecting Indian manufacturers from low-cost imports.

 

In its final report, the DGTR noted that these cranes were being sold to India at prices lower than their normal value, which amounted to dumping.

 

"Definitive anti-dumping duties...is recommended to be imposed...for a period of five years," the DGTR stated in its notification.

 

The authority also said the duty should be levied as a percentage of the CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) value of the imports, considering the nature of the product. 

 

These cranes are widely used in infrastructure and industrial projects, including roads, bridges, refineries, and cement plants. 

Final decision with finance ministry

 

Although DGTR has recommended the duty, the finance ministry will take the final call on whether to impose it.

 

In separate notifications, DGTR said it has launched anti-dumping investigations into copper data cables and ethambutol hydrochloride imported from China.

 

What anti-dumping duties mean

 

Countries often carry out such probes to check if cheap imports are harming their domestic industries. If evidence is found, anti-dumping duties are imposed as a corrective step under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Both India and China are members of the WTO.

 

The DGTR underlined that the duty aims to maintain fair trade and provide a level playing field to Indian manufacturers against foreign suppliers.

 

India has already imposed anti-dumping duties on a number of products from China and other countries to curb unfairly priced imports. India’s trade deficit with China currently stands at around $100 billion.